although paula and i have lived in massachusetts most of our lives, we are always in awe of each and every location our couples take us.

gabby and alex chose the mount in lenox for their pre-wedding engagement session and even in the spring time it was nothing short of beautiful. we met at the gate and off we went... eyes scanning left to right, right to left and back again... so many unique nooks and crannies to shoot!

despite the weather, gabby and alex looked amazing! we loved that they got into the summer spirit, it was fun to shoot and it made all the difference. we must of said, "think 70 degrees" a half dozen times and it may have worked :)

this will be the third pre-wedding of this year we've had snow, but you would never know it by looking at the photos. it was a balmy 44 degrees with gusty winds, and it snowed (or grappled, tomatoe-tomato) at the very end of the session. the weather ran the gammut that's for sure, but gabby and alex were troopers and really made an outstanding effort.

we received a text saying, "we're on our way! want anything from dunkin?" rick and i waited eagerly to see them. michelle and tom pulled in the driveway all smiles and waving, it was their pre-wedding day!

after we were all caffeinated, caught up for a few minutes and solved the problems of the world, we hit the road and went to our first location. shenanigans ensued and in between the laughs we managed to whip tom into shape for some serious picture taking! ...michelle was a saint :)

you'd never know by these two that it was a chilly start to the morning, they looked all cozy and happy in the warm sun...

holding hands and making all kinds of plans... the gods only know what they were talking about, but we're pretty sure at least one sentence had something to do with a cutting board or a margarita :)

when planning a session you never know exactly what the weather will be, but today it ran the gamut. we went from sunny and mild, to cold with a full blown snow squall... not once, not twice, but three times! you can just imagine how excited we all were!

"is that snow?" allie said, so we all ran as fast as we could to the lawn, yelling "hurry up! hurry up!"

fields, trails, stone walls, chalkboards, barns, tractors, walkie-talkies, ferns, apple cider and snickerdoodles, bradley was large and in charge! he became our new assistant by giving posing directions via walkie-talkie, carrying the magic reflector and shooting his very own gopro video :) thank you for the help buddy!

aaron just happened to have new turnout gear to break-in and allie showed him how it's done :)

allie, aaron and bradley, great job picking the day, who knew you would get a little bit of each season in one session! so much fun, so many firsts and so many runny noses! ha! we're so excited for you all and cannot wait for your big day <3

we were so excited when they contacted us about their engagement. emails and phone calls flew and talk of a possible superhero themed wedding in vermont made us over-the-top happy!

elyssa sent along this review and we were pleasantly surprised on the emphasis of a pre-wedding session and first look, so many couples struggle with this. see what she had to say...

"i met rick and paula years ago when they photographed my sister's wedding. since then, i have seen their great work at two other weddings - my other sister's and a friend's. they were my immediate choice. from my first conversation with rick and paula, they were ecstatic about my engagement and wanted to discuss every detail with me. they recommended vendors for other services that I was hoping to include in my special day. they spent countless hours discussing my concerns about whether or not to do a first look, who to include in photos, etc. they also include a pre-wedding session (aka engagement photos) in their packages. as wonderful as it is to have those stunning photos, it also helps you feel more comfortable being photographed. by the time my wedding weekend arrived, I knew that photography was in capable hands and I had nothing to worry about. they orchestrated the schedule with ease and grace. every last moment was captured beautifully. and above all else - everyone felt comfortable with them around. the absolute icing on the glorious cronin hill cake was the fact that they came to our brunch with a slideshow of the highlights from the previous two days. our guests were so excited and shocked to be able to see these photos that quickly. It made the end to a great weekend that much more special."

paula and i have always been superhero fans. with the explosion of all the new films coming from the marvel and dc universe it's such an exciting time. it's not uncommon to see us, in line, popcorn bucket in tow, waiting to see the latest avengers flick. we are total geeks and it's something that we can geek-out on together. elyssa and dan are the same way, but they take it to a whole new level of coolness :)

during their pre-wedding session we found out we had much in common, tv shows from animal planet (bobo hehe), syfy and the travel channel were thrown around and I think we yelled when we heard the name josh gates, it was too funny! it was like they hacked our apple tv account!

after hearing more about their wedding plans, we found out they travel here, there and everywhere to regularly attend comic-con in full cosplay, they even met stan lee! (so jealous) it was no wonder why they wanted to incorporate all this fun and adventure into their dream wedding.

so much thought went into the details. from the groomsmen gifts to the bridal bouquets, in some way the marvel and dc characters were subtly present. you would never know in the above photo that elyssa wore custom spider gwen flats and her bouquets were made of handcrafted hulk comic book roses... or that dan and his groomsmen wore superhero cufflinks, each tailored to their specific person. these are just the highlights! it was all so creative and tastefully done.

there's so much more to say but for now, what an amazing weekend! it was like we were all part of our own graphic novel and the heroes of the adventure lived happily ever after :)

thank you elyssa + dan, we had so much fun capturing your weekend! we feel really lucky to have been part of your beginning! #‎LessThanTruncatePi

paula and I feel lucky to have been in new jersey this past weekend covering jess and adam's big wedding! after a year of emailing and talking on the phone, we finally met jess and adam at the somerville fire museum to shoot their mini pre-wedding session! each room was filled with memorabilia dating way back to the horse drawn carriage days and it was a total blast!

shooting in the upper meeting room there were all kinds of turnout coats and old leather helmets. jess put some on and adam helped her. under his breath we heard him muttering something and it was the line in the movie back draft, where stevie mccaffrey was buttoning-up little brian mccaffrey's coat... it was word-for-word and one of the most epic things we have ever heard during an engagement session.

"leave me alone, will ya? you think you're so smart. would you stay still already? what a geek! i'm not a geek! - you're doing it wrong..." – lt. steven mccaffrey + ff brian mccaffrey, backdraft

jess and adam, if you are reading this, we had so much fun with you both! we really wish it didn't go by so fast! CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU again for everything!

authors

paula and rick have been photographing weddings and events for many years, some here, some there, and seems like just about everywhere. this weblog will chronicle their adventures in love, happiness, and starbucks.